If you’re a poker player but not very good at it, there are things that you can do to improve your game. Everyone has heard about perfecting your “poker face” when playing poker, but there are other tips that are equally important.
Even when you’re playing online poker, there are certain personality traits that make being a better poker player a lot easier. Let’s take a look at some of them.
1. Focus
Even if you’re online, focus is extremely important. When you aren’t actively playing, it’s best not to get distracted by things happening around you. If you’re playing from home, this might be difficult to do but it’s important to focus anyway.
Pay attention to everything happening at the table, especially what the other players are doing, because this is a good way to learn what’s truly going on in the game.
2. Manage Your Money
This may sound odd, but if you’re no good at managing your money, you won’t be able to succeed at poker. Money management tips can be found all over the Internet, and the articles don’t have to be specifically related to playing poker.
The truth is that the more you learn about managing your money — regardless of the source — the better you’ll be at playing poker.
3. Control Your Emotions
When you play poker, you should leave your emotions out of the game. In many ways, playing poker is like a business transaction. Instead of thinking with your heart or your emotions, think with your head.
While poker is not an emotional game per se, many people experience different emotions when playing, so it’s better if you stay calm and think with your head instead of your heart.
4. Practice by Recording Yourself
Even when you play online, you’ll likely have body language that you’re unaware of, so if you record yourself while you play, you can go back and look at it so you can notice things you’re likely not aware that you’re doing.
Watch your facial expressions and your body language most of all, including how nervous you look, so that you can notice things that need to be changed.
5. When in Middle Position, Always Be Cautious
Middle position has certain advantages, but you still need to be cautious if you’re in the middle position. Early-position players have to play their best hands, while late-position players can still surprise you.
This is why you should avoid going for long bluffs or playing your worst hands. That being said, it often behooves you to play mediocre hands when you’re a middle-position player, but you should still plan carefully what you’re going to do.
6. Learn to Adapt to Different Situations
Adaptability is an important trait to have when you want to improve your poker skills. In poker, you have to notice quickly what your opponents are doing and determine mentally what they may do next.
Ascertaining the entire situation, including what the other players may or may not do next, is the first step to adapting to the game. In other words, think outside the box and try to anticipate what’s going to happen with every play.
7. Be Brave
Being fearless and willing to take a risk are important tools to use when playing poker. While being cautious is good as a general rule, you have to be unafraid of losing every now and then so you can take a chance on something that might result in big winnings.
When you believe that the move you’re considering is the smartest one to make, you should go ahead and make it, especially if you’ve considered it from every possible angle.
8. Be Patient
When playing poker, the game can sometimes get boring, especially when you discover there are no playable hands for you to make.
If you get too bored or impatient, it will cause you to make mistakes because you might easily start playing hands that you know deep down aren’t the smartest ones to play. When it comes to playing poker, patience is definitely a virtue.
9. Know the Difference Between a Good Hand and a Bad Hand
This one takes time, and the more familiar you are with good and bad hands, the easier it will be to recognize the good ones.
For instance, in Texas Hold ‘Em, bad hands include 2 and 8, 3 and 8, and 2 and 7. In Five-Card Draw, bad hands include those with all suits represented and those that have the numbers 2, 3, 4, 5, and 7.
10. Always Be in a Learning Mode
One of the smartest things that you can do when you’re trying to better yourself at poker is to continuously learn how to play better.
There are tons of websites that provide you with tips and suggestions that help improve your game, and of course, the more you play, the better you’ll likely get at the game. Just make sure that you never consider yourself too good at poker to learn more!
Conclusion
Getting good at poker takes dedication, patience, caution, money management skills, and the willingness to continuously learn more about the game. Poker is not a game of chance;
instead, it is a game that is won by people who are skilled and practiced in it. It shouldn’t take you long to get much better at poker, especially if you keep in mind that the more you play, the more you’ll learn that you can apply to future games.
